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Hindsight will view Romney as a poor candidate with no core values who looked deeply uncomfortable
Daily Mail UK ^ | Toby Harnden

Posted on 11/07/2012 6:21:33 PM PST by Arthurio

Inside the ballroom in the Boston conference centre where Romney gave his perfunctory concession speech last night, his supporters were stunned by the scale of his defeat when just hours earlier they were confident of success or at least a nail-biting finish.

But hindsight will probably view Mitt Romney a poor presidential candidate who appeared to have no core values, was selected only reluctantly by his own party and campaigned as if the whole experience was deeply uncomfortable for him.

He made plenty of mistakes but his biggest failing was that even after running for the White House for the best part of six years it was hard to fathom exactly who he was or what he really believed – as opposed to what he thought voters wanted him to believe.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2229083/US-Election-2012-analysis-Hindsight-view-Mitt-Romney-poor-candidate-says-Toby-Harnden.html#ixzz2BarVWZ5u Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook

(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...


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To: Viennacon

Romney should never have been involved in republican politics, he needs to be driven far away and never heard from again.

After reassuring the left that he still supported homosexual Boy Scout leaders and homosexualizing the military, Mitt said this in an interview with Scott Pelly.

Mitt Romney on August 27, 2012, in a CBS interview.

PELLEY: Well, the platform as written at this convention for the Republicans does not allow for exceptions on abortion with regard to the health of the mother or rape or incest. Is that where you are?

ROMNEY: No. My position has been clear throughout this campaign. I’m in favor of abortion being legal in the case of rape and incest, and the health and life of the mother.


21 posted on 11/07/2012 7:23:47 PM PST by ansel12 (Romney not only reelected Obama, he lost the Senate,ruined the "down ticket", West, Mia Love, Brown.)
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To: garbanzo

“Romney was probably the best candidate that the GOP could have run this cycle. Republicans can’t sit around waiting for the next Reagan because it isn’t going to come unless some rich conservative wants to start a “Boys from Brazil” type program. He was a good candidate that ran a good campaign by conventional wisdom.”

No argument with you there, Romney ran the “archetypical Republican campaign”, and as such, was the epitome of what “a Republican presidential candidate” is perceived to be, these days.

Having said that, there is an emerging majority of the American voting population that no longer seems to have any interest in what the Republican party and traditional American philosophy has to offer, any more.

They just aren’t buying what we got to sell ‘em...

In today’s America, with the possible exception of us old white folks, the “Republican brand” is on the verge of becoming obsolete...


22 posted on 11/07/2012 7:39:46 PM PST by Road Glide
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To: TheRhinelander

“The fact is that Romney WAS a good candidate. He was singularly equipped with the skills to turn this country around.”

Those are two very different things. He was the candidate best suited to be Zero’s punching bag.

RINOmney failed to unite the base - or represent their collective values.
He ran a take no risk, Dewey-styled campaign.
He looked uncomfortable in his own skin from start to finish.
He represented exactly the wrong thing as the citizens blame Wall Street and Big Business for the economic woes they are experiencing.

... all known from day 1. The GOPe pushed for him anyway.

He joins a similar line-up of losers:

Ford
Dole
McCain
Romney


23 posted on 11/07/2012 7:39:46 PM PST by aMorePerfectUnion (Gone rogue, gone Galt, gone international. Gone.)
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To: wrench
The fact is, Romney was the candidate to defeat Obama. If you couldn't get past that simple reality then you were unfit to vote and should have stayed in and done your nails. All the rest is BS.
24 posted on 11/07/2012 7:44:17 PM PST by hinckley buzzard
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To: garbanzo; Clintonfatigued; rightwingintelligentsia; sickoflibs; AuH2ORepublican; GOPsterinMA; ...
>> Hindsight will view Romney as a poor candidate with no core values who looked deeply uncomfortable <<

>> Romney was probably the best candidate that the GOP could have run this cycle <<

I'm going to take a middle of the road approach on this one. Romney was indeed a poor candidate with no core values (disagree he "looked deeply uncomfortable" -- if anything, the problem was he looked TOO comfortable and plastic, nobody bought his sincerity). The GOP establishment was very foolish to think a guy who has won 1 election in his whole life and couldn't get re-elected in his own state was the "electable" choice.

At the same time, I guess I have to agree that Romney was probably the best candidate that the GOP could have run this cycle. We had a pathetic set of candidates for our bench this year and it really doomed our chances against Obama. I think most of them would have done WORSE than Romney. Even Santorum, who I eventually ended up voting for, would have had major problems winning the Presidential election in November because he had been crushed in his home state and was easily demonized as a fire-breathing socially conservative "extremist"

I think Paul Ryan ultimately helped cement Romney with the GOP base, though he didn't energize the ticket as much as Palin had in 2008. I disagree with some conservatives who say we would have won more swing states and hispanic voters if Romney had picked Rubio. Rubio was the ideal veep choice on paper but I honestly feel non-Cuban Hispanics wouldn't care if there was a Cuban on the ticket -- they'd still vote for O for the free stuff, and it's quite possible we would have still lost Florida, as we managed to lose Wisconsin with both Paul Ryan and Tommy Thompson on the top of the ticket.

Every election cycle we hear how this is the "most important election of our lifetime", and while I'm pretty sure we'll hear the same in 2016, I fear the damage from two terms of Obama will be irreversible and leave this nation in a really sorry state where it's unrecognizable. Not sure Romney would have fixed the damage from the first four years though, electing him was a real gamble. We need to look at what conservatives in the UK and Canada are doing, since they are able to bring a number of blacks, asians, and non-Christians (Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, etc.) in their tent when American conservatives have been really struggling at electing any minorities that are not in safe GOP districts and states. The UK Conservative Party even has a very conservative Muslim who is a member of Cameron's cabinet. She's pretty much a Muslim In Name Only and regular Muslims despise her, but here in the US I'm pretty sure a bunch of angry "evangelicals" would be on the warpath if Romney even suggested the possibility of a Muslim in his cabinet, no matter how conservative they are.

Romney sucked. But the other candidates sucked more. Odd that a number of freepers seem to have really grown to like him over the last few months, now that we no longer have to pretend Romney is a terrific guy.

25 posted on 11/07/2012 7:49:34 PM PST by BillyBoy ( Impeach Obama? Yes We Can!)
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To: hinckley buzzard

Romney was the one with the most MONEY, he bought his way in. He couldn’t even beat the guy that lost to Obama last time.

In politics, Romney is the most experienced loser in the US.

We should have had a conservative on the GOP ticket, not a limousine liberal from Mass. Hell, the loser couldn’t even carry his home state.


26 posted on 11/07/2012 7:52:52 PM PST by wrench
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To: TheRhinelander
I'm pretty happy.

Romney wasn't a good candidate.

The GOP heads knew that Romney would never get elected. They just used him to trot out and get donations. They had no intentions of even trying to unseat Obama.

The only thing that could make me happier is when the lemmings get tired of following the GOP over the cliff.

27 posted on 11/07/2012 7:59:21 PM PST by Bodleian_Girl
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To: Arthurio

campaigned as if the whole experience was deeply uncomfortable for him.
_____________________________________

No doubt it was ...

He was forced to shake hands and socialize with peons and other inferior types...

Elitists dont play well with others...


28 posted on 11/07/2012 7:59:48 PM PST by Tennessee Nana
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To: TheRhinelander

You misspelled your FR name.. it should be TheRINOlander.


29 posted on 11/07/2012 8:00:27 PM PST by Bikkuri (Hope for Conservative push in the next 2-4 years..........)
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To: Viennacon

Romney will serve as a tragic example of character assassination at its worst.
________________________________________

Yeah the way Willard attacked and assasinated the charactors of the other GOP candidates and Governor Sarah Palin was disgusting ...


30 posted on 11/07/2012 8:07:02 PM PST by Tennessee Nana
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To: delapaz

“It’s OK, He lost, you don’t need to pretend he’s a decent candidate anymore.”

He has executive experience and financial expertise - degrees in both law and business. What’s wrong with all that? Who would you have selected?


31 posted on 11/07/2012 8:16:35 PM PST by ElayneJ
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To: BillyBoy; garbanzo; Clintonfatigued; rightwingintelligentsia; sickoflibs; AuH2ORepublican; ...

it was strong Obambi in the precinct that I worked. 55% to 45%.
suburban CT.

The state rep candidate, we increased our vote in this precinct vs. the Lefty incumbent from 40.1% in 2010 to 43.7% in 2012. Despite the top of the ticket.

There were 5 precincts ... this one is always the worst of the 5. The one next door increased from from 43.9 in 2010 to 45.9%.

Mission accomplished. The other 3 precincts put us over the top by 277 votes total.

How did we do it? We rang doorbells. And then rang more doorbells. And we were polite and friendly.


32 posted on 11/07/2012 8:28:13 PM PST by campaignPete R-CT (campaigning for local conservatives)
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To: BillyBoy; garbanzo; Clintonfatigued; rightwingintelligentsia; AuH2ORepublican; GOPsterinMA; ...
RE :”Romney sucked. But the other candidates sucked more. Odd that a number of freepers seem to have really grown to like him over the last few months, now that we no longer have to pretend Romney is a terrific guy.”

Great point!

I saw Scott Walker on FNC tonight and in-spite of the national election loss (disaster) he picked up seats at the WI state level and now controls the house and Senate again, reversing the Dem recall successes to make net gains,

He is the only Republican I see who shows promise, He looks and sounds good, is not a liberal, nor does he have a history of DC big gubment votes under Bush.
And best yet he takes on Dems head on and beats them senseless.
A Conservative friend here (not many Cs here) told me “Walker has balls of steel” , I love that quote.

33 posted on 11/07/2012 8:31:18 PM PST by sickoflibs (How could this happen? Romney going to win big. The polls were lies too)
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To: Arthurio

I did not support romney to begin , but I was very impressed with the man and would vote for him again.


34 posted on 11/07/2012 8:34:24 PM PST by Big Horn (Rebuild the GOP to a conservative party)
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To: sickoflibs

Even worse

‘Rich liberal” LOL


35 posted on 11/07/2012 8:36:10 PM PST by sickoflibs (How could this happen? Romney going to win big. The polls were lies too)
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To: Arthurio

Cold hard facts
People like Clinton—Gore-Kerry—Obama should not even get within hailing distance of the presidency in a normal populace

Mickey Mouse should have been able to landslide against them

We have a majority brainwashed society that is kept that way by the schools and MSM

No nation has ever turned itself around once down the road to ruin

We are on the fast track now


36 posted on 11/07/2012 8:37:52 PM PST by uncbob
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To: BillyBoy; Gilbo_3
RE:”.....now that we no longer have to pretend Romney is a terrific guy.”

LOL, I love it!

Reading that 'Romney will save us' crap here was giving me the creeps.

37 posted on 11/07/2012 8:41:12 PM PST by sickoflibs (How could this happen? Romney going to win big. The polls were lies too)
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To: Arthurio

Hindsight will view Romney as a poor candidate with no core values who looked deeply uncomfortable


At the risk of sounding like I’m saying I told ya so. Shouldn’t foresight have told folks this at the beginning of the primary?


38 posted on 11/07/2012 9:11:36 PM PST by Idaho_Cowboy (Ride for the Brand. Joshua 24:15)
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To: sickoflibs; Perdogg; LS; BillyBoy; EternalVigilance; BlackElk; PhilCollins; Impy; ...
Note yours truly predicted this fiasco months and months ago. A dangerous and execrable tyrant, one of the most easily defeated given the disasters on his watch, but yet who did the GOP nominate ? Willard. Someone who would say anything to get elected, and just about did, and for which he believed in nothing that the Conservative movement stands for. A rank opportunist who used his wealth and with the help of the gutless party liberal establishment, all but chased out any viable contenders.

A rich, country-clubber, flip-flopping failed Socialist Governor, one for whom he wouldn't hesistate to go nuclear on Republicans (like McCain), but could barely do so against a Democrat. I've hesistated to definitively call them "ringers", but frankly, it's about as damn close as you can get. I denounced such a showdown as an IL-style "Combiner" fix. Whomever got in, nothing would really change and the same corrupt bipartisan cabal runs the show.

You can see how sickened and frustrated I am that I saw this train wreck coming and screamed like hell to put a stop to it and why I was so big on replacing Willard with Walker. Playing Mr. Nice Guy doesn't work, you either annihilate your opponent, given the stakes, or don't bother to run. Every day we lose this country more and more, even when we score wins here and there (such as in 2010), they seem more Pyrrhic than anything else. When are we going to realize the opposition, both inside our party and without, have a truly nefarious agenda. It's about raw power, and if it means bleeding this country dry, overturning the rule of law and our Constitutional foundations, that's what they'll do, and have already done so.

Without these leftist parasites and debasers of our remarkable nation over the past century+, who knows how much futher along we would be culturally, economically, spiritually, etc., today. They don't want us to become a better country, their utopia is the stuff of nightmares and perpetual dependence. Think "Oceania" in "1984." An upper class of political elites running the whole show.

Take a look at many cities today where they've had unencumbered control for decades and tell me that it doesn't resemble a similar nightmare -- with just one minor difference, there's no "middle" of the pyramid, for whom the protagonist in "1984" belonged to. You have the political class, insulated from much of the reality they've created, usually well-to-do (with their gains made from usually illicit means), and then the great parasite/feral/criminal class, whom have been like that for at least several generations (post-1950s).

They have long forgotten the stability of the two-parent household, the biblical values of thrift and hard work, no use for such things as ethics and morality that make for stable community. They are bribed with crumbs (albeit expensive crumbs), kept perpetually aggrieved by the political class exploiters, and if there are any that start to question things (a la Winston), well... you know what happens with them.

All in all, what leftism has enabled en masse from the late 19th/early 20th century onward. People like Zero, the culmination of this horrific nightmare. Not the triumph of a color-blind society, but the spawn of a very race-conscious debased utopian horror, elected by a collection of those urban ferals/parasites, moronic halfwits who get their news from late night comedians and music stars, union thugs, group rights gangsters, overeducated elitists and other debauched dingbats.

Can we beat them ? Yes. But we need to stop listening to the namby-pamby turds like Rove (who has a nasty habit of backing liberal country-clubbers and senile imbeciles while railing against movement Conservatives) and fight like hell against the party establishment, whom frankly don't seem to give a damn one way or another if they win the general election. We need bonafide fighters who recognize we are in a war for our very civilization, our very way of life and existence. These are the people we need to get behind and all else can take a hike. If we don't do it, and now, there will be precious little left. Anyone want to fathom where we'll be in another 20 years, 30, if we continue on the course we're on ? Remember where we were 30 years ago. Imagining a future like this during Reagan's first term is like a terrible nightmare. Unfortunately, it's now the reality. It's time to say, "This is enough ! We're taking OUR country back."

39 posted on 11/07/2012 9:30:54 PM PST by fieldmarshaldj (Resist We Much)
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To: fieldmarshaldj; Gilbo_3

I saw it too and warned as I did in 2008 but the Koolaid train here threatened to destroy everything in their way.

We had to say Mitt was Reagan or we all die. they said.

Gilb stayed with me though, voice of reason :)


40 posted on 11/07/2012 9:57:08 PM PST by sickoflibs (How could this happen? Romney going to win big. The polls were lies too)
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